Jack and Jenny
by Socken
Summary: Captain Jack harkness met a rather attractive 3 year old blonde in a bar. There are some small-world experiences that you almost wish hadn't happened... alomst.
1. Girl in a Bar

**Chapter 1**

Captain Jack Harkness was sober. However, he had just ordered a blue dentist cocktail in the hope of rectifying the situation. Sitting in the same bar he had been when he met Alonso, and also last seen the Doctor, he hoped he wouldn't stumble into him again. He really wasn't in the mood for that... But he may forgive the guy if he had a pretty friend with him, which would be very likely.

Speaking of pretty friends, a young blonde girl placed herself next to him along the bar, and ordered a '/!ka/'. Shoot, Jack thought. She looked like she'd be fun drunk, but alcohol was clearly off her agenda. Regardless, he sidled up to her, and whispered in her ear in his best seductive voice, "What's the name Blondie?"

"Jennifer," she replied, "you?"

"Captain Jack Harkness." He grinned. "But you can call me Jack."

"Hello Jack. I'm underage, so you may as well give up now."

This wasn't quite what he was expecting. Jack swallowed his dentist hard, and leant back. "Under age?"

"Yes, Jack, I'm not even 3 years old yet, and my dad would definitely not approve." She was direct, but smiling. Jack noticed that her social skills supported the 3 year old theory.

"Oh, we could always find an un inhabited asteroid, as a general rule their laws exist about to the same degree as life on them… _Or_ we could stick to small talk," he changed tack as she saw her face.

"I'm looking for my dad, and my self-generating fusion coil is broken. Are you any good with engines?"

Jack decided it was not the time for drinking, and stood up. "I'm not bad, I can take a look if you like?"

Jennifer also rose from her seat. "You won't be able to fix it, I've tried. And I'm not 'bad' either, but my arms aren't long enough to install the new one I've bought, so I thought you might appreciate aiding a damsel in distress." She smiled at him almost seductively.

"With pleasure ma'am," he said docked his cap mockingly, and offered her an arm, "Lead the way."

"I'll finish my drink first," she said smirking, and he sat down feeling slightly foolish.


	2. My place?

**I realised i should proboably put a disclaimer here, i dont own and of the characters, or anything else dr who. If i did, Jenny would already be back I love getting reviews, positive or negative, so long as the negative ones are constructive so please press the relevant button **

**Chapter 2**

Discussion over drinks with Jenny definitely didn't go according to plan for Jack. The conversation went something like this:

"So, you lost your dad… that was careless!"

"It's not my fault. He thinks I'm dead."

"Dead? Oh… Why?"

"I took a bullet for him, he left before I woke up."

"I have some experience in that department… where were you hit that you woke up?"

"Right between the hearts, just above my breast."

Looking back, Jack should have picked up on the reference to multiple hearts, but he was rather distracted by another thing Jenny had two of, in a similar vicinity and his mind began to wander... However, he was saved from embarrassment when a scuffle by the side-door woke him up from his daydreaming.

"Get off!" a voice cried. "This tweed belonged to the 4th king of aPT-rAn, and _you_ are not doing it any favours by trying to remove the sleeves!"

Jack sighed and turned back to Jenny who had finished her drink, and was shrugging on her coat. "Another drunk I guess," he said, trying to smile warmly, but it came out more like a whining puppy with rabies look, as his mouth froze and his eyes widened in disappointment as he noticed she was leaving.

"Coming?" she asked, pretending not to notice his expression, and moving off purposefully towards the door. She paused, and turned back to him, "Or not?"

Jack grabbed the wrong coat in his hurry and had to apologise to an obese Sycorax in completely the wrong language before he could catch up with Jenny. He was left wondering how on earth (or any other planet that takes your fancy) this girl managed to humiliate him so thoroughly without getting him drunk, and yet did so entirely by accident. Jack left the bar after Jenny looking extremely sheepish.

"Are you staying around here? Or are you just a day tripper?" Jenny asked him abruptly as they crossed a road.

"Errrrr," Jack had planned on being drunk and renting a hotel room when he needed it, but he didn't want to tell Jenny this. On the other hand, if he said he _did_ have a room, that would at least not close any doors between them. "I have sleeping quarters on my ship," he said, trying to regain a little of his lost dignity. "But they're a bit cramped, I was going to rent a hotel room if I could find a cheap one."

"Well where did you park?"

Again Jack wasn't sure whether he should lie or not. In the end he decided the truth may earn his some brownie points… or lose them. Not that he had any to lose thus far.

"I wouldn't say, 'parked,' more 'stopped temporarily'."

"Well is it nearer than the Hug/se factory? I'm parked behind there, although Hug/se doesn't know that. I need to freshen up a bit." Jack smiled at this, she wasn't as law abiding as she at first seemed… But considering they met in a bar, and in _that_ particular bar, maybe he shouldn't be so surprised.

"Well, I am closer." Jack was grinning at his own luck. "But you'll have to excuse the mess, I don't exactly have regular visitors." Not strictly true, but he didn't usually care this much about the impression his guests might get, they were usually rather distracted by the time they got that far. This time, Jenny took the arm Jack offered, and he led her down the street feeling glad he'd finally got something right.


	3. Awkward

_**Apologies for the lack of updating recently, I've been in a play, and had a music exam. Anyway, I was eager to get this posted quickly once it was done to make up for lost time, but my Beta Jiwa (btw big thanks) is busy atm, so this is un-beta-d. Please review it cheers me up after a hectic day, or any other day for that matter, anyway:**_

**Chapter 3**

Jack should have known that with Jenny around, there was no way anything was ever going to go according to _his_ plan for very long. She had literally locked herself in his bathroom for 10 minutes, and then left, barely waiting long enough for Jack to lock up. It wasn't that she was rude, she just didn't understand what was expected of her, Jack could tell because she made polite conversation with him, and smiled throughout, she just didn't understand the social conventions of timing…

By the time they got to Jenny's ship, Jack was comfortable that she'd call him an acquaintance… and that was it. Then again, you can't really tell, cultural norms (or lack thereof) would certainly create some awkward situations in future, Jack could tell.

Jenny's ship was not small, Jenny had explained to him at some point on the long walk from his ship, how she had found it drifting in space, fully operational with the exception of no crew, no life signs, and a broken light switch in room 67-B. 'Like the Mary Celeste' Jack had thought, only without the food. Jenny hadn't understood, Jack hadn't explained. Anyway the power supply had run out somewhere by the Pi quadrant of the Höfa empire. She had killed the backup power in landing, and so until she fixed it, there was no power at all on board. This is where she needed Jack's help. When you're in the middle of a wasteland of private property, and you shouldn't be, stepladders are not the most abundant resource around. Jenny wasn't tall enough to reach the engine hatch, and it soon transpired, neither was Jack.

Jack decided that indecision was not the thing here, and before he'd entirely thought it through, he had stuck his head between Jenny's long legs, and she was sat on his shoulders, and able to reach the engine hatch. The broken engine coil landed with a thud at their feet, making them both jump, then laugh.

Jenny re-fastened the engine hatch, jumped down, rather inelegantly, and glared at Jack, then she relaxed.

"Quick thinking there," she treated him to a warm smile, which- at least where Jack from- meant 'friends?' He grinned back at her impishly. She produced another identical cube of electronics and cable from somewhere and before Jack could respond _he _was on _her_ shoulders. Having squeaked embarrassingly in shock, Jack began to wonder at the girl's strength. He caught the spanner she tossed him on the third try, and he flushed red, glad she couldn't see his face. It didn't take long until Jack was slotting the new box in place. It was about a foot wide, and the corners of one face each had a thick cable protruding from them. It didn't take long to clip the wires into the correct holes, what took time was the clearing out of the gunk left from the space's former bunt-out occupant. As they worked, they kept talking, Jack about his adventures with Alonso on Madras, before they fell out over something other than what he told Jenny. Jenny spoke about the year she spent with the tribal races of Koli-na, learning their cultures, their legends, and their cooking. She claimed she was quite good, he said she'd have to prove it some time, and so it happened Jack found himself planning an unofficial date with a girl whose first words to him were 'I'm underage'. He was making progress, and he congratulated himself for it.

As Jack slotted the last wire in place, he shifted his position on Jenny's shoulders slightly, to improve his reach. Jack froze as his groin brushed against the back of Jenny's neck. So did Jenny. Luckily, the tension was broken by a large floodlight illuminating the shadow below the engine hatch as the new fusion coil worked its magic. Jack jumped down quickly, and smiled.

"I said I wasn't bad!"

"I owe you a dinner" Jack's stomach rumbled loudly at this, they had been working for about 40dts, but it was hard work, and Jack hadn't had any lunch. Jenny giggled, and led him up the newly operational entry ramp.


	4. Hugs are Important

**Chapter 4**

The ship clearly used to be somebody's private jet. Jack was sat at the breakfast bar watching Jenny cook something akin to spaghetti bolognaise, only the carrots were a deep maroon, and she used minced Quarta, which when Jack tasted it reminded him of rabbit. Jack noticed that Jenny was beginning to relax around him, she hadn't seemed uptight before, but he'd hardly had anything to compare with. As one of the many clocks about the place struck 12, in a way which reminded Jack of when he first met Rose, Jenny jumped, and switched on a small TV set by the counter. It was the 10 o'clock news, from Earth.

"I've managed to learn a lot about my dad as I've moved about, firstly that he's incredibly difficult to catch, he moves about so much, but he's also rather unforgettable. People remember him. One thing that I find crops up a lot, he spends a lot of time on earth, and he tends to be there for big events, I keep hoping I'll see him, never have done yet though." Jenny's bright expression faded, and Jack felt compelled to comfort her. He shifted on his stool awkwardly, and then decided he had nothing to lose, well, less than had ever stopped him before. He moved slowly round the bench as Jenny followed the story of a collapsed bridge intently, then he slipped behind her, slipped his arms around her, and held her tight. Not his usual, pre-coital-physicality hug, just a hug, comforting, comfortable, and, Jack hoped, protective.

"Need some help?" he asked softly, not wanting to spoil the moment with and noise. Jenny nodded mutely, turned in his arms, and hugged him back, a bone-crushing bear hug that had Jack wincing slightly. She pulled away at once, looking sheepish.

"Sorry, I sometimes forget my own strength"

"You can say that again" the atmosphere relaxed, and conversation was postponed while Jenny tried to save dinner, remarkably successfully. The food was delicious, and Jack made a mental note to return the favour in the near future.

"If you're wanting to help, you could perhaps join me in the navigator's chair while I try to find a more… moral parking space." This made Jack smile as he helped with the washing up, it seemed wasteful to use the industrial dishwasher on crockery for two.

"I'd love to, but I do have my own ship to attend to"

"It didn't look too well attended from what I saw" Jenny said with a smirk.

"How about you help me get it tidy, and in exchange I'll sell up and join you here."

"That's a bit quick!" Jenny sounded alarmed again, and Jack worried he'd crossed a line, that shed clam up.

"It'll take a minimum of 6 weeks to get _Tr1b3_ shipshape; you can cancel the deal at any point in that time, fair?" Jack tried to sound blasé. Jenny perked up, and nodded, almost enthusiastically. Jack smiled, and wondered how long this period of maintaining his dignity would last.

**Here you go guys, I'm not sure if things are moving too quickly, it seems a bit unreal, but I was short of ideas of how to buy Jack some time. As always, reviews are welcome , more than welcome even, enjoyed thoroughly.**


	5. Gun in your Pocket

**Chapter 5**

Jack was… comfortable with the way things were moving. Pleased would be an over statement. Since the hug they had shared in her ship that first day, they had barely touched. They worked together, and were becoming fast friends; Jack was wary of pushing things too far, he wished he could read what was on Jenny's agenda. As Jack removed a wall bracket and found a nest of harmless, but numerous va'f/mice, he had jumped back and screamed like a girl. Jenny hadn't let him forget it for days. Jack had wondered what she thought of him.

Three weeks in to project 'strip for sale' on Jack's ship, an alarm had gone off. Not in the ship, a planet wide emergency. Having rushed outside to hear the details, they had crashed into a smiling blonde woman with deep brown eyes and a huge amount of frizzy hair piled up on the top of her head. She picked herself up and held out a hand,

"Hello Jack, how are we? I didn't expect to see you here _or_ Jenny but with a life like mine, I suppose I should really be expecting to meet anyone anywhere."

"I'm sorry WHAT?" Jack's American accent was intensified by his shock and Jenny couldn't resist a small giggle.

"Oh…" the smile vanished from the stranger's face, "wrong order, I take it you haven't met me yet? I'd best be off then, must dash, see…" she was out of earshot before her sentence was over.

"What on earth was she on about and how did she know my name?" Jack was still in strong-accent-to-the-point-of-being-comical-shock mode. Jenny smiled as she explained,

"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume your slow brain is due to the fact that this siren is distractingly piercing" she screwed up her nose at this, "she's a time traveller, and apparently so are you?" Jack nodded, frowning slightly at the implied insult over his intellect, "at some point in our future, and her past, we'll meet up." Jack's face cleared with understanding, and then frowned again as the shriek of the siren continued.

The cause was apparent once it stopped, and city residents were informed that 'a criminal was found in hiding on the island of '-/l' and has now been captured by local police and is being transferred to a high security prison in the Halta region. The message was then repeated in 12 different languages.

An army of police marched past, escorting the stranger with the hair to the nearest launch station, once again grinning.

The two friends stopped and stared as the group approached, and continued to gaze after them long beyond them vanishing from sight. They had just recovered themselves, and were about to re-enter the Tr1b3 when Jack paused, and dashed off in the direction of the sound he heard, it sounded to Jenny like metal scraping on metal, reminding her of broken machinery and sick robots. Jack was too breathless to explain as he dashed through the streets, Jenny hot on his heels, although she had no clue what they were chasing. Then Jack skidded suddenly, as the noise died down. They almost crashed into the group of policemen from before, but there was no sign of their prisoner, and they all looked dazed and confused. The siren soon started up again, and Jack sighed as he trudged despondently back home, without registering Jenny's presence.

After half an hour of working in near silence, Jenny could no longer hold back her curiosity,

"What was that noise you were chasing?"

"An old friend, sort of… don't worry" Jack tried to smile. "He does that a lot, although last time I did cling on and we wound up witnessing the end of the human race…. Nasty" Jenny sensed Jack didn't want to go into the details. She nodded mutely.

Only a few days later, there was an attempt by a local gang to take control of the neighbourhood, it was nothing new, in fact it was so normal people got jumpy if it didn't happen at least once every 2 months. This time the gang called themselves Ru_lhi. The only impact on Jack and Jenny's lives was they switched the types of gun they each carried, Jack a bigger one, to feel safer, and Jenny a smaller one, to be less conspicuous. Of course it did stop them leaving the ship quite as regularly as they'd have liked, they already preferred to go out together just for the chance of fresh air. Jenny checked on her ship daily, it wasn't the only large craft around, but it was above average in size and state, most around were more like Jack's rusting lump, making her an ideal hot-wiring target.

It was four days into the new 'government' regime when Jack found he and Jenny were making their way home in the dark, which, of course made him edgy, _and her_. This made the atmosphere tense, which is why Jack pulled Jenny so fiercely into his chest as a cluster of adolescent Hath jostled past them. There was an awkward silence as he realised his overreaction.

"PLEASE tell me that your gun's in your pocket!" Jenny hissed. At first Jack thought she meant for protection, then he realised he was pressing into her back rather awkwardly and making his attraction to her uncomfortably clear.

"Yes?" he lied unconvincingly, his gun was actually in its holster by his back pocket. He released her and buttoned his coat up hurriedly. They walked home in silence, but once they were back on home soil Jenny spoke up.

"I hope you don't get the wrong impression there" she said nervously, "I was scared, I missed Dad, and then you…" she tailed off. Jack smiled and tried to look relaxed as he pulled her into a warm hug.

"I know" he tried to soothe, "we'll pretend it never happened and go back to normal tomorrow OK? Besides, I should apologise, I'm sorry. I guess you could say I was distracted" he tried to laugh, and failed.

"Goodnight Jack"

"Goodnight… Jen" Jack was always glad when he made Jenny smile.

**AN:** **so I've finally written a descent length chapter! I'm not great at this, and I still think things may be moving too fast, but the TV show is fast so when that's the style in my head it's hard to slow down. Sorry I'm making excuses. As always, I love getting reviews, so please write them! **


	6. Kedgeree

**Chapter 6**

Jack had woken up the next morning grinning, he'd had a fantastic dream about the T.A.R.D.I.S. and hoped one day he would be able to show Jenny around it. She would love it he thought, and she'd get in so well with the Doctor, they were so similar in so many ways. Jack shook his head quickly, don't think about the future! He scolded himself, especially when Jenny was concerned. He struggled out of the top bunk (he had been a gentleman and insisted she take the more accessible bed) and stumbled towards his everything machine, coffee, blue lemonade, it did the lot. This morning he needed caffeine, but it was warm out, so he had an ice cold Coke, nice and traditional. It was only when he checked his watch that he realised he was up nearly an hour earlier than usual. He couldn't start work without Jenny, he'd wake her up, and there wasn't really much by way of entertainment around. He sighed and padded back towards the toilet, past the beds, and put his drink down on the bench as he passed. He collected his clothes from a pile on the floor, having decided it was worth getting dressed, and although it was unlikely Jenny would wake up in the next five minutes and catch him naked, it really wasn't worth the risk, especially after all the awkwardness of the previous night. He shut the bathroom door, but didn't bother to fiddle with the very stiff from unused lock. They had agreed early on it wasn't worth the effort, they knew when each other were in there. He replaced his tattered floral bed-shorts in the medicine cabinet (he didn't remember the last time he used pyjamas, and that was where he had found them as he had searched frantically, but silently for nightwear which might be considered polite for company. He wondered how drunk he'd been at that particular beach and how bad his hangover had been the morning he confused psychedelic swirls for aspirin). By the time he was fully dressed, his stomach was grumbling, and he decided to surprise Jenny with a dish of her favourite kedgeree for breakfast.

"Very… Earth" he'd commented, the first time he'd watched her wolf 2 platefuls like it was edible gold.

"I know," she had responded, grinning like a kid with an ice cream, "like my dad, full of brilliant stuff, and with every mouthful there's always something even better to make it special. Fish, Egg, peas, allsorts! And it varies depending on where it is, I once had some with sweet corn in it, and there was one planet, I forget which, where they did a pudding version, with honey and raisins. Dad's like that, special, and full of even specialer bits" here she paused to insert a girlish giggle, "and he varies wherever he is too, I've heard so many stories about him, there all so different and yet they're all definitely him."

Since then Jack had become proficient at perfecting the dish, using a variety of techniques to maximise the tiny capacity of the small camping stove he found in a cupboard somewhere. He retrieved the now permanently-resident ingredients from the cupboard, and set to work. He had just finished stirring the stuff together when he realised Jenny still wouldn't be up for another half an hour, there was no point heating it through just yet. So he just sat and watched his new friend sleep. She was so quiet like this, like all her usual smiley, buzzy energy was busy running around inside her head. She had very vivid dreams. Jack froze, as, still sleeping, Jenny snarled, like an animal. He face was twisted in fury. He had no idea why. The it relaxed, and so did Jack, but not for long, soon her sheets were tangled in her limbs like warring cobras, and Jack was quick to jump out of his chair and try to soothe her. He made quiet shushing noises, and tried to restrain her flailing limbs. Then the yelling started, mostly just screams, but Jack made out a few words too, lots of 'no!' and 'Dad!' he caught his own name once or twice too, but he was too distressed to think anything of it. Suddenly, Jenny's eyes shot open, and she was awake. Shaking slightly, and sweating, the sheets were visibly damp, she was still half trapped in her terrifying dream however, because the sight of Jack's face clearly scared he still, and she screamed again, an ear splitting shriek of the sort that usually sent Jack running for his life. This time, however, it had the opposite effect; he grabbed her, and pulled her tight to him. He whispered softly in her ear anything he thought might calm her down, "it's just a dream… you're awake now… I'm here… we _will_ find your Dad… we _will _find your Dad… I'm here… just a dream…" He began to rock her gently, like a parent with their child. He shushed her softly, still rocking, still whispering, and still hugging tight. The screaming slowly subsided, and was replaced with soft sobbing. Jack was not perturbed by the wet, or the snot, he just kept whispering, and rocking, and hugging, tight, like that was the solution to everything. He rocked her gently until the tears subsided too, and then he kept rocking. He had no idea how long he was there, he was too distracted to care. He just sat, rocking, and shushing, and whispering, and soothing. He simply enjoyed the feeling of holding her in his arms, like he could protect her from her fears, both inside her head and out. Whoever her father was… well, he was a lucky man. They stopped rocking after a while, tired and stiff from the repetitive motion. Then they just sat, clutching each other tight like a lifeline to the world. It felt so alone in their little metal tube, but Jack didn't care, Jenny was what was important to him right now. He knew from experience that he would never know how long these feelings would last, but that was exactly why he needed to maximise their potential while he still wanted to. He sat thinking deeply for a long time, hyperaware of every tiny movement she made in his arms. Eventually, he sat her back on the bed, and told her to stay put. He tucked the covers round her like a cocoon, and whispered to be patient. She nodded obediently in response.

Jack was not long in returning with a tray of deliciously warm kedgeree. The expression on Jenny's face was one he would never forget, as she absorbed the concept of 'breakfast in bed' and all its benefits.

"Happy Birthday" Jack joked as he placed the tray on her lap. Jenny's face fell.

"But it's not my birthday!" she now looked worried.

"Don't worry, it was a joke!" Jack was quick to soothe her, pushing the tray back towards her as she had tried to return his present, an idea which hurt him too much to say. He watched he eat for a few moments, treasuring the delight in her eyes, until his curiosity got the better of him, "Just out of curiosity… when is your birthday?"

"I dum… hafun" she tried to talk her mouthful and failed miserably. They both laughed, and Jack had to pat Jenny hard on the back as she accidentally breathed in an awkward lump of rice. Having swallowed hard, she tried again, "I don't have one, I don't know when I was born, created, whatever, and I travel around so much I regularly lose track of dates, could be anything under the age of 10 years for all I know, but let me tell you, the expression on your face when I told you I was three was priceless!" Jack was slightly miffed at this news, but pleased that his fishy medicine had most certainly fulfilled its purpose. Jenny was certainly back to her daytime, cheery self.

"Well in that case, I officially name today as your birthday. I suppose we should use earth years, seems to be the happiest thing you've got to a native planet." Jenny giggled again, making Jack smile, and flicked a tiny bit of rice at him. He caught it expertly in his mouth, and they kept themselves entertained in this way for nearly half an hour.

**AN: This is Chapter 6 version 2.0, the rocking is now longer, and the conversation hopefully more natural. I'll try to update soon, I think I have some ideas for where to take their relationship next. I'm also thinking of creating a sister fic which would be the same story from Jenny's P.O.V., the chapters would directly correspond. Please vote on the poll on my profile what you think also, as ever, Please review, please!**


	7. Sweaty! :

**Chapter 7**

Jack was determined to look after Jenny as best he could in her father's absence, if she wasn't interested in him _that way_, he would have to stick with his role as adopted big brother. With this responsibility in mind, Jack was up early the next day, and dressed, had breakfast prepared, and was even armed with a box of tissues, and was fully prepared for when Jenny's night… morning terrors hit. He held her tight as before, and produced a bowl of delicious U-bei cereal at the perfect moment. This became a regular thing, and over time, the severity of Jenny's fits receded, and her recovery became more controlled and… comfortable. Jack learned a lot from the morning discussions which followed, and did his best to teach Jenny as much about Earth culture as he could. He found a number of ageing paperbacks in another of the many storage spaces under his ship. He never found time to look through them all, but he selected the ones he remembered best from his childhood, and began to read them to her, teaching her Earth English as he went. She was a fast learner, and was soon reading many of the ones he had not chosen in her free time. Life on Jacks ship continued like this for many more weeks, and Jack finally decided he was pleased with her condition, and turned his mind to how he should best ask Jenny about her future plans. Every time he thought of how close they'd become, and how much he'd miss her if she said no his eyes would start to sting and he'd have to take a number of deep breaths and think _very hard_ about something completely different. Then he would remember the look of worry on her face as she began to think about the implications of their friendship, and speed, and pace, and her dad, and the dreams, and Jack had begun to shake a little, just his hands, and sweat rather, all over. What if she left in a temper, and one of those gangs got her, or she never found her dad and he never learned she was alive. What if one day he met her Dad, he'd have failed. She did feel like a sort of little sister to him, it hurt. His chest was suddenly very tight. He really didn't know how to bring the subject up, or what to say.

He was just beginning to tremor more visibly, and wonder if he'd be able to shower off the sweat before he was contracted into any more Jenny hugging, when he was saved further torment by her returning from the bowels of his storage space with another armful of Earth Literature.

"Are we done?" she asked breezily, and Jack was stunned by her calm.

"Umm… I guess so…" he tried to smile, "decision time" a nervous laugh floated about the room, and Jack cut it off quickly as he realised it was his. Jenny didn't try to hide the fact she could tell how much of a state he was in, and she was clever enough to be able to work out why.

"Calm down!" she dumped the books on the floor with a soft thud, and approached him with her arms out. She stopped about two feet away from him, and gestured with her still outstretched hands for him to approach. He took a tentative step towards her… then another. Then she grabbed him in a tight hug, and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Of course I'm sticking with you silly!" Jack relaxed visibly, "You've taught me so much, and looked after me better than I could have wished for, and while I don't doubt you have some ulterior motive," she paused here for a girlish, almost teasing giggle, " I'm equally sure you're a gentleman, and won't force anything on me. If you do, you'll only seal your fate when my dad finds you. He won't kill you, but according to General Cobb you'll wish he had."

"General… Cobb?" Jack was too relieved to be scared.

"He's the guy who shot me."

"Oh…" Jack tried to be equally calm about the affair, but inside he was burning, she wasn't worried, so neither should he be. She _wasn't worried_. He did take the time however to reflect on the irony of their reversal of roles, wasn't he supposed to be the calm, reassuring one?

The next stage of the Job was to transfer anything Jack wanted to keep into Jenny's ship, but there wasn't much, s box of clothes, and some bedding… a backup of all the data he'd collected over the years to import to Jenny's sadly commercialised computer. If they were going to find her dad, they'd need more than just the trends in the cocktail market, not that Jack wasn't pleased with the potential of this data for… other purposes. The Job of transferring did take a while though, because Jenny had found a lot of old Earth stuff she had wanted to keep in her rummages through Jack's storage space, including a number of the books she hadn't read (and a few she had), and some fantastic CDs which Jack would be hard pressed to find a player for in such an upmarket, modern vessel such as was his new home. Still, he planned to be there a while, so finding a room to commandeer seemed like a high priority. He moved of to explore the new vessel, and made a mental note to buy Jenny some sort of communication device for her birthday, though perhaps a little belatedly. Still, she'd love a SuraDX he was sure, very Retro Earth-y. He ducked under a low door, smiling. All was well for now.


	8. Trunks

**Chapter 8**

Jack hated surprises, in his line of work, they were usually not good. So when Jenny asked him to close his eyes, trust her, and follow as she led him by the hand to a destination unknown he was… tense. Not scared, just tense. He knew he shouldn't be, and it wasn't that he didn't trust Jenny, it was just that he was an ex-time agent with a history of being surprised by rather… evil people, or things. They weren't always people. Jenny stopped, and he felt the heat of her body as she moved to stand behind him… very close behind him. Jack took some deep breaths to steady himself as Jenny placed her palms over his eyes, and nudged him slowly forward with her thumbs on the back of his head.

Jack felt the change in atmosphere as he moved through a doorway from a confined steamy corridor into a vast chamber with a high ceiling and powerful air conditioning. Still, Jenny did not remove her hands from his eyes. Instead, he felt himself being pushed through a curtain, and turned to face what felt in his outstretched hands to be a wall of some synthetic fabric he couldn't identify. He felt Jenny remove her hands, but she was through the curtain again before he could turn around.

"Don't come out yet!" she called, and Jack was sure he could hear muffled giggles, "Get changed first, and yell for me when you're done. If you come out now you'll ruin it." 'I came out a long time ago!' Jack thought to himself, but decided to humour Jenny's peculiar instructions. He soon realised getting changed might be more difficult than he thought. Hanging all over the walls of the small cubicle he occupied were every type of male and female bathing suit imaginable. There were baggy shorts, tight shorts, speedos, wetsuits, aqua bubbles, hu-ru'di, and even a strange mesh contraption which Jack could make neither head nor tail of. Which would Jenny expect him to wear? He didn't want to be too exposed, he was ever conscious of how scared she'd been when she thought things were moving too fast between them, and losing her for good still terrified him to the brink of a panic attack. Still, he wanted to push things if he could, because he refused to give up on one day proving he was well worthy material for her, and she shouldn't care what her father may think.

After a few minutes of weighing up his options, Jack opted for a bare chest, and knee length baggy shorts, which were lose enough to roll up his legs if things got too… warm.

With a quick check of his reflection in the mirror now visible against one wall, Jack called to Jenny that he was done.

"Close your eyes again!" she called back, and having done as he was told, Jack heard her slip into the cubicle behind him, and replace her hands over his sockets. In the confined space she was forced to press right up against his bare back in order to turn them both around completely, and push him back through the curtain of the cubicle. The hair on Jack's neck was on end as her breath tickled them, and he realised he would probably be very grateful for his choice of _baggy_ shorts later. Jenny brought him to an abrupt halt, and told him to shuffle forward slowly until he could feel the edge of the floor with his feet. He did so, and was surprised to find the tiles beneath him were wet.

Jack gasped as he took in the clear blue water of the Olympic size swimming pool which dropped away from under his toes, and grinned broadly. He was a strong swimmer, and had spent a lot of time in a pool as a teenager, working on his chest muscles for his job as a poster boy.

"Look what I found" Jenny whispered in his ear, and then shoved him hard between the shoulder blades.

Jack was upside down under water, and it was one of the most exhilarating feelings of his life, it was up there with flying small craft solo through an asteroid belt at enormous speeds, and sex. He held his breath as his own weight and momentum carried him right to the bottom of the pool, where he completed a neat somersault, and kicked off hard from the bottom and rising quickly back to the surface and swimming powerfully over to the shallow end where Jenny was perched on the side, giggling at him, and swinging her toes to make circles in the water.

He paused only briefly to admire the perfect fit of the swimming costume over her hips and chest, before ducking under the water again to grab her toes, and tickle her soles mercilessly until she fell into the water beside him, being careful to catch her head before it hit the hard tiles of the pool floor.

"Race" Jack asked, hoping Jenny could swim. She shook her head.

"I'm not going up against what I just saw, you're insane! And besides, I can't swim anyway. That's what this is all for, a very elaborate request for swimming lessons." She giggled, and Jack got the sense that as much as she appeared calm about the matter, this was a big deal for her. He sat up on the side, and she followed.

"I'd love to teach you!" Jack wasn't sure how he could say no. It wasn't like they were going to be insanely busy for the next few months. Earth was a good eighteen weeks away on a vessel like this, designed very specifically for taking things slow. "Do you want to start now?"

"If you don't mind?"

"Why would I mind? We've got plenty of time!" Jack couldn't understand Jenny's concern, she sighed.

"Well, we're gonna be cooped up in here together for a long time once we take off… just the two of us." Jack was also worried now, about exactly where this train of thought was going, until she continued. "And I just thought that you would want to get a bit of space while you still can." Jack was relieved.

"I promise," he stopped to rest a hand on Jenny's shoulder before he went on, "I will _never_ want a bit of space to get away from you." She looked at him, her wet fringe sticking to her face, half-hiding her eyes, "You're a great girl Jenny, you're strong, you know what you want, you're clearly a very dedicated daughter to spend so long chasing such an elusive Dad, and if you were my daughter I'd be very _very_ proud of you." Jenny had been staring at the water throughout Jack's little speech, so he couldn't see her face, but he smiled in relief, as she managed a watery grin at him through the curtain of her drenched hair. Changing the subject to cheer Jenny up, Jack lowered himself back into the pool again. "You wanted to learn how to swim?" And pulled her by the arm into the water, and up towards the deep end.

**I'm not sure how long it's been since I last updated, but for me this is a fairly long chapter so I'm very pleased with it. The whole swimming pool idea was at the request of penguin number 2, so here you go H!**

**I saw the statistics for people reading this story today, and it's insane, thank you all for reading, and as ever, please review!**

~Socken


	9. Jenny

**Chapter 9**

Jenny wasn't sure what to make of Captain Jack Harkness. He clearly had a long story to him, and would most likely very much prefer it if Jenny didn't hear about certain parts of it. However, regardless of his shady past, and confident front, Jenny almost wished there could be something wrong with him. Not because he was perfect, far from it, he snored terribly at times, and his ship was hardly clean and comfortable, but he wasn't... damaged the way she knew she was. She had been born with the physical age of easily 20, and a mental age of... who knew? She certainly didn't. She had no childhood, no family... the nearest thing she had to a mother was one of those DNA machines, and her Dad was... well... he left didn't he. He didn't wait for her, didn't even hang around for some sort of... closure. She was dead and he was off... she'd had these doubts before. Did he really mean what he'd said about travelling with him? Maybe he just said it because she was dying... to cheer her up. She rolled over in her bed, wishing Jack was nearer, just the comfort of having his protective presence nearby was... nice.

It took her a long time to get back to sleep.

**AN: I wrote this fairly quickly, and it's very rough, but I wanted to post it before i chickened out, and went back to Jack's POV and its immediacy. Please tell me what you think, i'm rather nervous about this one :r**

**PS: As ever, thanks for reading! :)**


	10. Shoelaces

**Chapter 10**

**AN: please forgive me for my absence, but even as I started this chapter I didn't know how it would end, I've had major writer's block for a while now. But I think this step marks the crest of that hill, and I hope it makes up for the long wait you have all suffered- again my apologies!**

For the past three weeks Jenny had been gradually losing her upbeat demeanour, and Jack had repeatedly caught her in tears. He tried to give her privacy then, made sure she didn't notice him. He certainly wouldn't want her to see him crying when it could be avoided, so his best guess was to apply the same logic to her.

Then came the time when he couldn't avoid it. They had finished another swimming lesson (Jenny was coming along well, and had mastered a simple doggy paddle with ease, and was now quickly improving at breaststroke.) He was half finished changing when he heard a harsh thud from Jenny's cubicle. "Jenny!" he called, worried. He heard only a stifled sob in response. His anxiety increasing, he stepped out of the cubicle barefoot, and missing his shirt, span around to face the rows of curtains. He pulled the closed one aside, unmindful of whatever state of undress he may find Jenny in, and found her sitting on the floor, facing him, fully dressed with just one untied boot on her foot. She was crying, stifling sobs.

"Jack…" Jenny sounded… relieved? "I need a hug." Jack was by her side in an instant, arm around her shoulder, pulling her against him as best he could within the confined space.

"What happened?" he still wasn't convinced she was alright.

"I banged my head on the bench, and… I was frustrated, my boot laces wouldn't tie, and my fingers were sore. No one ever taught me… I know the theory but it's really hard to do myself. I never asked because "sob "it seemed silly. I never had parents, and I don't need them, I never had before. I can look after myself… can't I?"

"Jenny," Jack wasn't sure how to respond, his mind went blank. He pulled her to her feet, wrapped his arms around her properly. Pulled her against his chest and pressed his face into her hair. He made shushing sounds against her scalp and rocked her, like he used to every morning and now only did every one or two weeks. He mouthed words against her head, how much she'd changed him, what he'd learned from her, why he was here, all the things he was too scared to tell her out loud, because… why? Why couldn't he tell her, he'd known her for weeks now, almost months. 'Shut up and do it Jack you awkward teenage idiot, you haven't been this nervous about something since you were 14. He pulled her head back. She had stopped sobbing a while ago, but her eyes were still red and puffy, and she clung to Jack like a life ring. "Don't stop me… please" Jacks tone was begging, not commanding, he wanted her to know just how scared he was of this.

Then he kissed her. He'd kissed countless girls before, and Jack couldn't explain how this was different. It just was. Maybe it was the wait that made it different, longer than he'd ever waited before to kiss a girl, maybe it was him, he'd certainly changed. Maybe it was Jenny. Jack was sceptical of love, it was cheesy, gooey, and far too over emotional and nonsensical to him, and his views weren't changed, but he understood better now why some people could believe in love.  
>That didn't mean he was in love, and he didn't think he was yet. But he could be, one day, fairly soon. One thing he knew was that he wasn't making a mistake right now.<p>

He pulled back for air. Jenny was smiling at him, this time, she was the proactive one. Jack smiled as he realised how little he understood what he was getting into.


	11. Swimming

**Chapter 11**

Life moved on much faster after that, Jack felt much more relaxed, they'd broken a barrier, passed a milestone, they were a different kind of close. It was new to both of them in different ways.

With this new level of trust, Jack began probing more closely into Jenny's knowledge of her birth or… creation, and her father. He was tall, she said, he had a couple of female friends, but whenever Jack began to think about the details more closely, his brain would shut down, and he'd find himself staring into space, totally lost, like there was an enormous cloud of fog filling his head.

He tried to explain it to Jenny one evening, but she couldn't understand what he meant, Jack wasn't surprised, he couldn't understand what he meant either. Her reaction was a common one, leading him by the hand, and taking his mind off things. Now that Jenny could swim (if poorly), there was much more scope for the sort of games they could get up to in the pool. They raced (Jack usually let Jenny win, and she knew this, but didn't mind), they played catch with an inflatable ball they'd found, they turned somersaults, ducked each other, played tig, and wrestled when they felt like it, but that often descended into less fighting and more kissing. Such was the sequence of events this time.

After a short race, during some rather splashy diving, Jenny grabbed Jack by the leg and heaved him under water. She then jumped on him, and he wrestled her onto his shoulders, as he pushed towards the shallower end until he could stand up. Jenny proceeded to lean forward over his head and fall head first into the water, creating an almighty splash and dragging his shoulders down with her as she went. They both turned a full somersault underwater, and wound up standing, chest to chest, and mouth to mouth. Jack came up for breath, and spat out some water, but while he was distracted Jenny jumped on him again, and their 'fight' continued.

They finally ended their frolicks, leaning against the side, about half way down the pool. Jack hugged Jenny close, no longer wary of the bulge in his shorts. Jenny wriggled her hips against him teasingly, and he span her round as fast as he could in the water, and sat her up on the side. He jumped out beside her, and began nibbling at her earlobe. She slapped him away playfully, and Jack grinned. "Remind me how old you are?" Jack smiled teasingly

"Tenish last I checked" she giggled

"Well as your elder you better respect me" his mouth was back at her ear again.

**AN: hope this answers some questions about why Jack's being so dim about who Jenny's dad is. I realise he's being slow, but I want certain stuff to happen first and this takes time, but I should be posting fairly regularly now, I have chapters 13&14 written, but I need to write 12 first. I realise not much happens story wise here either, but I want to show their relationship changing, because otherwise future chapters feel rather sudden to me. Still, I hope you enjoy, please review, feedback is the best thing you can do for a story, and well, I think this may need help.**


	12. We need to talk

**AN: So basically I've had this written since I posted the last chapter, but I wanted to insert another chapter in between because I also have the next chapter (which I shall add ultra soon I promise!) but I wanted something special to happen in chapter 15, but I haven't got a clue how I could fill the gap, everything I tried was rather cheesy or cliché, so I gave up, and it will happen in chapter 14 instead. Anyway, sorry for the wait, but I hope by the end of the next chapter you'll think it was worth it **

**Chapter 12**

Jack was sitting on the bridge, thinking, when he was startled out of his reverie by the sound of a crackle on the radio, they were finally nearing Earth's solar system, and Jack was expecting for the ship to pick up a variety of lost signals, and misfired transmissions. What he didn't expect to hear, however, was the sound of the Doctor's voice, northern accent , audibly grinning, Jack could picture him, ears and all, and wondered how old the transmission was… had this version of the Doctor met him yet? Was it safe to make contact, was the TARDIS even there? Maybe it was just a stray bunch of radio waves floating in space, to save himself the embarrassment, or disappointment, and probable judgement, any action may cause, he contented himself with eavesdropping on what was clearly a great time to be on the TARDIS. Jack froze, as Rose's voice joined the Doctor's, they were singing, who knew what, though he hear the word 'chicken' a lot, and was fairly sure it was nonsense. He unfroze steadily, and called to Jenny "Jenny! You should hear this!" Her footsteps clattered on the corridor. Rose giggled on the radio, and it fuzzed with static, the signal was fading. Jenny ran in just in time to catch the last few words, "Monday mornings? Really?" and the transmission ended.

"Who was that?" Jenny was confused.

"Her name is… was… no IS, Rose, Rose Tyler." Jack's expression dropped as he remembered where she was, "I suppose there's something you should understand, who knows who we'll bump into when we land on earth… Come with me." He took Jenny's had, and led her to a large, inviting sofa in one of the passenger entertainment areas, he sat down with a sigh, and pulled her down to sit on his lap. Jenny was confused, her expression was clear, but she could sense Jack's nerves, and wasn't sure she wanted to hear what was coming. But she didn't stop him, he clearly needed to get it off his chest. She leaned into him, trying to be comforting, to demonstrate with her body that it was fine, that he should be calm. She wasn't very good at it.

Jack sighed, kissed her hair lightly, and started talking.

**AN: I also wonder if any of you know what Jack's going to tell Jenny? Please review with Ideas! Da****nke!**


	13. Talk

**Chapter 14**

_Usually, I'm the kind of guy you would meet in a bar one night, get to know _very _closely, _very _quickly, and never see again beyond the following morning. I've been described__ as 'permanently horny', and 'the randiest guy I've ever met', and for a long time, I was proud of those labels. They paved the way of my reputation before me, and I was a regular visitor to some of the most highbrow bedrooms in the galaxy for a while, and__ welcome too._

_Then I met Rose, she was hanging from a barrage balloon over early 20__th__ century London, and I had a conveniently parked space ship tethered to Big Ben, nearby. We hit it off, we were really doing well._

_Then she introduced me to her friend, a __borderline bald guy, about average height, with a northern accent and sticky out ears. He taught me not to be a coward, he cut me off from catching another girl, but he changed me, they both did. They did amazing things for amazing people, they left me for__ dead on a foreign planet, I didn't die, and I couldn't find them. We met again later; he'd changed a lot, and had a new friend… _Jack frowned.

The cloud in his head was descending again, and he couldn't stop it, like his own mind was blocking his thoughts, he fought against it, tried to blunder through the fog regardless, it was like wading through marshmallow, thick and sticky, and everywhere.  
>He didn't know how long he spent, wrestling with his own head, but it ached, and so did his heart. He hugged Jenny tightly, and buried his face in her hair.<p>

Jenny said nothing. They just sat for a while. Jack was rocking gently, and it was comforting. Eventually Jenny turned to him, slowly, trying not to break the mood.

"You fixed me" she said, no… whispered. Jack barely heard her. "I was just a few days old when I died, I have no mother. The nearest family I ever had were a different species to me. My dad left me didn't he? I was born into a war, designed to fight, what happens to the soldiers once the war is won? Or lost… Who needs soldiers in peacetime? Dad hated that, the killing, the death, the blood. That's what I was made for, everything he despised, wrapped up in his own DNA. Maybe he still hates me? Sometimes, I wonder what he'll think when I turn up, will he love me, or resent me? He didn't want me, they extracted his DNA at gunpoint and he rejected me from the start. I'll be the unwanted responsibility, the baggage of… nothing, baggage of his baggage, unnecessary, pointless, but dependent, unavoidable, a nuisance. But then when I was dying… he told me… no he _promised_ me, that we could travel together, see the stars. Then he left, I don't know where. He didn't wait for me…

Would you wait for me? If I died, would you wait for me to wake up Jack?" He pulled her tight to him again, and kissed her. Like before, like what was now many many times before, but different. They had shared a lot today, broken another barrier, and right now words weren't communicating enough.

Jack was nervous, but fervent, as he slowly lifted Jenny's T shirt, just enough to expose her stomach, and looked at her. Her eyes were loving, and her hands didn't stop him, so he raised it further, and pushed her by the shoulder to lie back on the sofa.

**AN: I hope you now understand why I wanted to wa****it for this, not that I do anymore… long story. Anyway, please review, it may take me a while to write the next chapter as its new territory for me, but I'll try to make it worth the wait. Thanks for reading **


	14. Breaking the barrier

**AN: Sorry about the delay, but this is a major chapter that I've been rather nervous about writing. You may or may not have noticed that I've upped the rating of the story to M for this chapter onwards, so if close physical relations isn't your thing, you may want to skip this chapter (I also promise to provide similar warnings about similar action in future, though I doubt there'll be any for a good while). I tried to write this tastefully, rather than it being ****explicit, so let me know whether I've achieved that without detracting from the significance of it, or not. Thank you **

**Chapter 14**

Jenny was new to all of this, but as with any other aspect of life, she was quick and willing to learn. As more of both hers and Jack's skin became exposed, her eyes widened at the new information flooding her brain from her senses. Jack was careful with her, he could tell she was inexperienced, but he was respectful of her boundaries, and went slowly; gave her plenty of chance to tell him to stop. Once there was just the two of them, no boundaries or distractions, he led her gently and comfortably to the most helpful position and whispered in her ear anything she may not understand.

Once Jenny understood Jack's intentions, which didn't take long, she was a fast learner. Jack showed her exactly what could be effective, and what could have certain results for both of them, and she relished this new way of learning. They didn't talk as such, but with bodies so close, words felt unnecessary. They were sharing something new and both were afraid to break the mood. After just a few small movements, and some whispered nothings from Jack, they were finally, properly together, sharing their minds and themselves and pouring care and emotion into and around each other, with their eyes, their hands and their bodies. Jenny could feel the tension leaving the muscles around her neck and shoulder, but building instead in her gut, it wasn't uncomfortable, in fact she found herself craving further ministration. Jack was responsive and understanding and she learned more with every touch. She tried to reciprocate to some level, but found their arms got tangled, and laughed nervously. He smiled at her, and shook his head, so she let her arm drop, and simply allowed Jack to do the work.

As the tension in her abdomen broke, she was overwhelmed by this new experience, and further awed by the reaction this elicited from Jack, who appeared to be experiencing a similar neural frying. Then they simply lay together on the sofa for a while, cuddling for warmth and giggling a little.

Jack felt himself release and it was as new for him as it was for Jenny, in a different way. The cloud of grey mist in his head had grown increasingly dense and dark as he moved nearer to breaking point, and as he crossed the line he felt it solidify into a dense black wall around his mind, for a fraction of a second, and then shatter like glass revealing incredible clarity, his brain was finally free of its bondage, he wasn't frightened of what he might say or do. She wasn't going to run away from him because he made a mistake, and he could relax properly. The release was more relief than he could realize.

They had been lying together, spooning gently for a while, when Jenny spoke up

"Not that this isn't wonderful, but do you think we could get dressed? I'm a little chilly" Jack grinned at her, and moved to stand up. It was just as he was tucking his shirt back in that she said something he wishes she hadn't. "Maybe we shouldn't tell my dad about that when we find him, I think he may suffer a dual heart attack!"

"Sorry what?" Jack was not sure what she meant.

"You know, two hearts, did you not notice my… odd pulse." Jack was frozen, his voice barely a murmur.

"I put that down to the conditions…" then suddenly he shouted, "He's gonna KILL me! Repeatedly!"

**AN: Seriously hope this was worth the wait, please review, I've never written anything like that before and I want to know what you think of how Jack realizes what he's missed.**


	15. Gallifreyan Biology 101

**Chapter 15**

Jack was unaware of his surroundings, he was sat on the edge of a wooden crate, head in his hands and eyes tight shut. He rubbed his temples vigorously. Jenny could only stand and watch, helpless and scared. They stayed like that for a long time, neither of them said a word, though Jack groaned intermittently. After about 5 minutes of this, he got up. He stepped toward Jenny and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked at her intently and Jenny counted to twelve slowly in her head before he spoke.  
>"Does your dad have a name?" The question wasn't exactly expected, and Jenny took a moment or two to formulate an answer.<br>"Not as such, I call him Dad of course, but his friends just called him Doctor" the expression on Jack's face was not one Jenny knew how to interpret; hurt, rejection... fear? Slowly, Jack took a deep breath. Then he pulled Jenny against him sharply, and hugged her tight. He murmured in her ear.  
>"You are either the luckiest girl alive, or cursed beyond all knowledge, and either way I will be here for as long as you need me, and we will find your dad together" he was crying, Jenny realised as she pulled his head back so she could see his face. She kissed him gently.<br>"you know him." it was a statement.  
>"remember baldy with the ears and the accent?"<br>"Yeeess..." Jenny didn't see the connection. Jack realised she was lost and changed tack.  
>"How about skinny, with great hair and a striped suit?" Jenny stifled a gasp, and felt herself smiling, a broad grin from ear to ear. "Well in that case I know exactly where we're going!" Jack was smiling too, but Jenny sensed some trepidation. She at him thoughtfully for a while, and then pulled him by the arm as she sat herself on the crate, pulling him down beside her.<br>"So tell me," she began "who's this other guy? Baldy with the ears?" Jack opened his mouth to reply, then shut it again, unsure how to explain. Jenny thought he looked like a baby hath, before they got their respirator. She told him so, between giggles. Then he laughed too. "But really," she eventually calmed down, "is he some kind of relative?"  
>"Not as such..." Jack thought for a moment, Jenny watched him, trying to be patient. It wasn't long before he sat up straight, and looked at her. "You said you died" another statement, but Jenny nodded her agreement anyway. "Surely you looked different before you died?" Confused, Jenny shook her head. "But what about regenerating?" Still confused, Jenny frowned. "Big orange light, new teeth, new hair, everything." Jack was gesticulating now, wildly and emphatically. Still Jenny said nothing, confused and a little scared. "Then why did you not die?"<br>At last, Jenny answered, "I did die, then I woke up." Jack went very pale. He didn't respond and the silence began to make Jenny uncomfortable, so she kept talking. "By all accounts it was the terraformer that saved me. All that energy and life so close to me as I died, it's like it terraformed me too." As she spoke, the colour returned to Jack's face, and he let out a long breath which neither of them realised he had been holding. Then Jenny asked, "are you okay?"  
>"Yeah yeah i'm fine," Jack shook his head to clear it, "it's nothing." Jenny didn't believe him, but sensed now was not the time to ask, so she changed the subject, back to their original topic.<br>"So when a... Time... Person" she wasn't sure what she was "dies, they change what they look like?"  
>"More than that!" her strategy seemed to have worked and Jack was now fully recovered, "their whole personality regenerates. That's what it's called when you change, you regenerate."<br>"So it's like they're a whole different person?" Jenny worried.  
>"Sort of yeah, but not so much that they don't have the same memories, or stop caring about the peoplethey're close to, they just become more energetic, or louder, or especially in your dad's case, more pensive. For one thing I think it's influenced by what's happened to them in the past... since they last regenerated. I've only ever met... three, so it isn't much to go on, but my theory is that like humans they change slowly and gradually as the events and the people around them influence what they do, but when they regenerate, as part of the healing process, the adaptions are accelerated, and you get a much less subtle personality change." Jenny nodded her understanding, but her next question stopped Jack in his tracks.<br>"You say you've only met two, me and my dad, where are the others? He must have parents? That's weird... somewhere out there, I've got a grandmother..."  
>"Not as such..." Jack began to say, but tailed off. Jenny didn't know what to say, so she said nothing. After a while, Jack sighed. "There's a story, that explains all of that... but I really shouldn't tell you it. It's a story your dad should tell, I don't even know all of it, and some of it I know shouldn't ever know. The time lords were a powerful race, and since it's your story really, you should hear all of it, from your dad, who knows it better than anyone." Jenny picks up on one word particularly, though the whole idea filled her with trepidation, but made her all the more desperate to meet her father. She noticed one thing which deeply worried her.<br>"Were?" She asked. Jack nodded gravely, then he hugged her.


End file.
